This is the average Social Security benefit for age 65

Get ready — in just 11 years, Social Security will celebrate 100 years! For now, we can celebrate that it’s been around for 89 years, keeping millions of Americans out of poverty. Today, it supports more than 71 million Americans, with payments totaling nearly $1.5 trillion annually.

You may be wondering what the average benefit is for someone of average retirement age. Here’s your answer: In July, the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit was $1,919. That’s about $23,000 annually — for this year. (Note that Social Security benefits are increased almost annually through cost-of-living adjustments (COLA).

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Social Security benefits are not, however, a case of get-what-you-get. There are ways to boost your Social Security benefit checks — such as delaying the start of collecting them, which you can do until age 70. (By the way, you can start collecting as early as age 62.) For most people, the best strategy is to wait until age 70, but many people can’t because they simply have need that income as soon as possible.

So what is the average monthly benefit for someone who is, say, 65 years old? At the end of 2023, it was $1,563, or about $18,750 for the year. Yes, right? Before you start getting too worried, remember that if you earned more than average during your working life, your benefits should also be above average (the maximum monthly benefit goes to $4,873 for 2024).

You can get an estimate of how much you can wait from Social Security by creating a Social Security account on the Social Security Administration website. It will allow you to see the latest estimates of your future benefits.

It’s smart to think about Social Security well before you retire — and also to develop a thorough retirement plan. Each of us should estimate how much income we will need in retirement and how we will get it. Social Security won’t be enough, so explore and develop other sources of retirement income.